


The King and The Assassin

by PaladinAlby



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Angst, Assassin AU, Assassin Barbara, Assassin Gavin, Assassin Jeremy, Assassin Jon, Assassin Leader Burnie, Assassin Michael, Blacksmith Adam, But like he aint actually dead, Childhood Friends, Eventual Smut, Fantasy AU, Fluff, Guard Alfredo, Guard Geoff, Guard Mica, Guard Trevor, Horse Master Joel, Hurt/Comfort, King Ryan, M/M, Mad King Edgar, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Spy Master Lindsay, advisor Jack, implied major character death, king AU, they just think he is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-04-03 15:45:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13999356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaladinAlby/pseuds/PaladinAlby
Summary: King Haywood was but an innocent king, he ruled his people in fair ways and he was well respected. But what happens when his life is threatened and his best friend, whom he thought to be dead, returns to save him.Aka Ryans a king and Jeremy is an assassin and I am trASH





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> So this is like my second ever chapter fit. Now im hoping to update weekly, but I am also a Uni student but I will TRY.
> 
> I also don't have a Beta and I been told I suck dick at editing so forgive any mistakes!

Ryan Haywood is a very well-loved king, his kingdom (Livaria Kingdom) was one of magnificence, no others could rival it. His wealth was beyond count, his citizens were as happy and as safe as can be and nothing had threatened his kingdom in years. But all of this wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for the people around Ryan. His captain of the guard, Geoff Ramsey, and his knights made sure all citizens were safe and took down any criminals before anything truly bad could happen. His advisor Jack Pattillo always kept him in check, making sure he knew all of his options and what he should and shouldn’t do. His spy master Lindsay Tuggey watched his kingdom and beyond its borders for any bad news, she was the reason that crimes barely took place here in Livaria, she reported all those who seemed suspicious and his guard would stop them before they could do anything. 

Jeremy Dooley is an assassin belonging to the Venom Blades, an assassin guild. He started training to become a Venom Blades assassin when he was 18, and now at the age of 26, he was one of the best and most hired assassins of the guild. Among the guild, were his two best friends, Gavin Free, a shockingly clumsy but swift assassin, and Michael Jones, a fierce assassin who relies on brute strength more than stealthy tactics. 

However, unlike the rest of the assassins, Jeremy wasn’t born into the guild. In fact, his life should have never opened up this path.

Jeremy was born into a family living Livaria, a family who were close to the royals, thus making his childhood best friend Prince Ryan Haywood. 

The two were practically inseparable, spending every change they got together. As children they played together, chasing each other around the castle and wrestling. As teenagers, they were still so close, but it was a little more than friendship. Both young men had fallen in love with the other as they grew, but neither had the confidence to tell the other. The love between the two was all too obvious to the Prince’s parents, so they allowed Jeremy to be in castle at all times if he so wished. The King, Ryan’s father, even treated Jeremy as if he were family, inviting the lad to dinners and family activities. 

And then one night, Jeremy never arrived for dinner. At first, the family concluded he must have gotten caught up with his own family, but when they heard shouts of a house fire in the area where Jeremy lived, they all feared the worse. 

Someone or someone’s had attacked the Dooley residence, the family slaughtered, and the house burned. However, among the bodies they couldn’t find Jeremy’s. Granted, most of the bodies were charred and unrecognizable, so the royal family concluded that the boy had died with them. They grieved for the boy and his dead family that week, Ryan more so than anyone else. 

Unbeknownst to them, Jeremy had been saved by a group of assassins, and they had taken him back to their guild, deciding to teach him as one of their own. 

Jeremy longed to go back to Livaria, but he felt he owed his life to these assassins, considering they had saved it. So, Jeremy stayed, and he trained for years under the Venom Blades leader Burnie Burns.

Neither man believed they would see each other again but fate had other plans for them.


	2. A Bad Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King Haywood goes about a normal day of kingly duties but a bad feeling is nagging at his brain. Jeremy thought it was going to be another normal day for him, but fate had other plans when the Venom Blades get an unexpected visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like suck at summaries so yea. I hope this chapter is way better than the introduction. 
> 
> Also both Jeremy and Ryan are like 26 in this
> 
> [Unedited] 
> 
> Please like forgive all mistakes

_Fire, all he could see was fire, the sounds of burning woods falling and glass bursting from the heat. There were distant screams, screams of terror and suffering. He blinked, and everything changed, the fire was gone, the charred remains of burnt down house sitting in front of him. He walked forwards, kicking the wood away and finding bodies. Two women, three men and the one of his best friend, his first love. Burnt out eye holes stared back at him and he felt as if he were going to faint, tears threatening to escape his eyes as he stared at the lifeless body of hi-_

Ryan jolted awake, springing up in bed, a shout leaving his lips. The king scanned the room frantically, his breathing harsh and fast as he took in the familiar surroundings, his whole body drenched in sweat from fear. Realising he was in his own bedroom, he tried to calm himself, drawing in deep shaky breaths, gripping the sheets tightly to bring him back to reality.

Flashes of the dream kept attacking his mind, the king rubbed at his eyes to try and make it stop, but it wouldn’t, and Ryan sighed in defeat. It had been so long since he last had that dream, they had stopped 3 years after the incident, finally relieving him of his seemingly endless grief. As to what has triggered its sudden return, he has no clue, and thinking about it only gave him bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“Probably just stressed.” He whispered to himself, feeling the phantom weight of all his duties on his shoulders. Who ever said being a king is amazing and you couldn’t wish for anything better was completely wrong and should be hanged. Sighing, the king climbed out of the comfort of his bed and towards his closet.

Ryan really hated his royal outfits, there were too many layers to put on, too many buttons and buckles. After 30 minutes of wrangling himself into the cloth, he was properly dressed, grimacing at how enclosed he felt. He liked outfits that weren’t suffocating his skin and being king did not have that luxury. Grabbing his sword, he strapped it to his body, knowing that if he left in the room the captain of his guard would murder him.

 As if on cue there were two loud knocks punched against his door and without his invitation, Geoff waltzed right in. As always, the captain was covered head to toe in armour, head raised and high as if he had just won a war.

 “You really need to stop doing that.” Ryan said, smirking at the man. Geoff only raised his eyebrow, and the king knew what was coming.

“Oh of course, I’m so sorry princess, would you like me to go outside and knock again?” Geoff said sarcastically, and truly the king should punish him for his behaviour, but Ryan couldn’t care less. Geoff was refreshing to be around, everyone else would be so polite and try to never offend him. The captain however couldn’t give two shits about how he treated Ryan, he talked to him just like he would anyone else and when he did, the king felt like he could actually breathe.

 “What if I said yes?” Ryan countered, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

 “I’d say go fuck yourself that’s what.” Geoff threw back, eyes narrowed, and Ryan let himself laugh at the other man. “Now if you’re done playing dress up, Jack wants to speak to you about some problems with the kingdom.”

 “Oh, so you’ve become Jack’s personal messenger now?” If looks could kill, Ryan would have died right then from the glare shot his way. “Can I at least have breakfast first?”

 “It will be brought to you. Come on.” Geoff left the room, not bothering to look over his shoulder to see if his king was following him. Turning to the guard posted at Ryan’s door, he barked out an order to get the kings breakfast brought to the council room. Ryan nodded gratefully at the guard who bowed to him and then bolted to the kitchens, not sparing a minute of hesitation as even that could cause Geoff to insult them.

 “You should really work on your attitude captain.” Ryan said, smirking at the huff he was rewarded with.

 “Yea, well when you deal with an irritable and disobedient king like I do, you would be the same.”

 “I’m the king, I don’t have to obey anybody!” Ryan defended, his tone full of humour.

 “You’re a king, not a fucking god.” Geoff sassed back.

 “Some would say otherwise.” Ryan replied, nodding his greeting at a few servants they passed. It was no secret that Ryan was incredibly attractive, he has had many offers of marriage, and just about all of his kingdom, men and women and the people in-between alike, checking him out and flirting with him when they could.

 “They can say whatever they like, you’re still the young royal prick you always were.” Ryan sent Geoff an innocent smile, forcing an eye-roll out of the man. A few minutes later and they arrived at the council room, entering it and strolling towards the large table. His advisor, Jack Pattillo, was already seated, head bowed over some papers, seemingly entranced at what was in it as he didn’t look up when the two men entered.

 “Now is that really the way your mother taught you to greet a king?” Ryan said lightly, making the ginger haired man look up with a raised eyebrow.

 “Actually, my dad taught me.” Jack said as a matter of fact and Geoff snorted. “Good morning, my king, and how was your sleep?”

 “It was fine; however, I did have a night terror.” Ryan said, moving towards his seat at the head of the table, sitting down a sigh. The images of the dream still swam through his mind, though they were less harsh than when he woke up.

 “Unfortunate. Anything you wish to talk about?” Jack asked, a genuinely worried expression on his face as he stared at his king.

 “Nothing you haven’t already heard. It was the one about him.” He didn’t need to say his best friends name, everyone that was close to him knew who he spoke of.

 “You haven’t had that dream in what? 5 years? What’s happened to make it return?” Jack said. He was one of the few who knew how deeply Ryan had loved Jeremy, and being his advisor, he was the best person to go to when had issues like this.

 “I wouldn’t have a clue. Probably just stress induced.” Jack nodded, understanding that was the end of that conversation. He owed so much to the man, Jack was like crutch to him, his extra support, and like a good advisor and more importantly like a good friend, Jack supported him through thick and thin. “You said there were some issues that needed discussing?”

 At this moment, his breakfast arrived, and Ryan sighed happily, thanking the servants that brought it to him before they left with a bow of their heads. Like an excited child at the time of Christmas, he dug into his food like he was a man starved of it.

 “Yes. Nothing too serious, but situations we can’t ignore. First of which, there was recently a whole neighbourhood fight in east side of the kingdom. Apparently, it’s a combination of a bunch of little things. The situations being late night drunken shenanigans out on the road, fights amongst children, thievery of food, the list goes on.”

 Ryan listened on with a critical mind, were these really the actual situations or were the citizens blowing it all out of proportion to make their side sound more innocent than the others.

 “Some are requesting we move the others to another part of town, while others are saying we should deal out punishments.” Jack said, his tone uninterested in this case. He always hated the neighbourhood conflicts.

 “We can’t deal out punishments without evidence of the crimes. And we can’t just move people out of their homes. Right we’ll set rule towards people getting drunk, they cannot be out on the streets while completely intoxicated after midnight, the only exception is if they are heading home. The children will be their own issue. However, I will go to the neighbourhood and talk to the children as a group to help influence them to stop. The thievery of food cannot go on, if it happens again, tell them to report it immediately so we can get there before the evidence is gone. Geoff, for the next three months I want guards posted at the neighbourhood, I want them to keep an eye on it all. If they see anything suspicious, then they report it immediately, but never engage unless violence is taking place.”

“Can do.” Geoff confirmed, making it his first duty after the meeting, his already going through who would be best for the task.

 “I will send a messenger with the decision, when will make the trip to the neighbourhood?” Jack asked, writing everything down.

 “As soon as I’m able to, don’t confirm a time yet.” Jack nodded silently, putting the paper aside to give to a messenger later.

 “Right this next one is about uh, different. There has been rising tension between the blacksmith Adam Ellis and our horse master Joel Heyman. There is no detail on what is truly happening, but Adam has requested his forge be moved away from the stables. When he came to talk to me he was completely red in the face with anger.

 Ryan grinned at the image of a buff blacksmith throwing a tantrum over a not so buff horse master. Geoff took this opportunity to steal a piece of bacon from the king’s plate, earning him a murderous glare from the man.

 “Grant the blacksmith his request, but I want them to talk it out. I don’t want any unnecessary feuds between anyone that is employed by me. They either work it out or risk their jobs. Geoff send some of your men to help the blacksmith with moving everything.”

 “And where should he be moved?” Jack questioned.

 “Is that room next to the dungeons still vacant?”

 “Yes.”

 “Then he can set up his forge there unless he has a more ideal place.” Jack nodded.

 “Right, last one, Lord Gus Sorola has sent an offer of marriage to his oldest daughter. He did not state her name, saying that if you are interested in the offer then you are welcome to visit him.”

 Ryan groaned at the this, the man had been sending marriage offers for years now, the king has lost count on how many children the man has.

 “Decline it. Say that I am currently not looking for someone to marry.” Ryan stated, and Jack smirked, already knowing that would be the king’s decision.

 “Excellent, that was all my king, you have a few hours until open court to do whatever you wish.” Jack finalized his documents, placing them neatly in his book to give a messenger later. As if a switch had been flicked, Ryan sat up quickly, startling the two men with the look of concern on his face.

“Wait, are you sure that was all?” Jack turned to him, a confused expression plastered onto his face.

“Yes, that was all my king. Why?” Ryan looked down at his now empty plate, his mind reminding him of the bad feeling he got just this morning, the feeling having just returned.

“I don’t… I don’t know I guess I just have a sudden bad feeling.” The king confessed.

 Jack walked over to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

 “Sir, you had a night terror that has obviously left you a bit shaken considering what it was. Maybe this bad feeling is just a side-effect from that dream.” Ryan sighed, his advisor was most likely right.

“Yea that maybe it. Sorry.” Ryan mumbled. Jack and Geoff both looked at each other in concern, he advisor nodding at the door, asking the man to leave so he could talk with their king alone. Geoff nodded, walking out of the room as silent as he could.

“Ryan, be honest, are you okay?” Jack asked. Ryan looked at him and Jack could see the beginning of tears reddening the rims of his eyes.

“The uh night terror, it keeps replaying in my head. It’s as if I relived the moment all over again except this time Jeremy’s body was there, his eyes were burned out an-“ Ryan choked off, a few tears falling from his eyes.

There was nothing he could say that would help the king, so Jack stayed quiet, his hand rubbing Ryan’s shoulder to comfort him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry I shouldn’t be so emotional about this, it’s been 8 years, I should be over it.” Ryan said, wiping the tears from his face.

“There’s no need to apologise my king, everyone has these moments. Even Geoff does.” Jack reassured, and Ryan chuckled. 

“I have a hard time imagining Geoff crying but thank you Jack, I’m going to go train for a while.” Jack nodded, watching the king leave, his concern never leaving his mind.

\---

The rustling of bushes captured his attention, his form going frozen as he waited for more noises, or for whatever it is to attack. His hand was behind his back, knife clenched in his fist, eyes scanning the area of the noise. Behind him there was another sound, a twig snapping under something or someone. He whirled his body around swiftly, eyes scanning every little spot of the forest.

And he was tackled to the ground by a hard force. It took only a minute for Jeremy to realise that it was Michael who tackled him, and it only took a few seconds after the realization for Jeremy to buck Michael off of him. He landed a punch right against the lad’s jaw, earning him a groan from the man. Jeremy jumped up to his feet quickly, positioning his body into a defense stance. Michael did the same, fists at the ready for when Jeremy eventually attacks.

Before either of them could make the next move, they were interrupted by the third member to their little group.

“Oi stop messing about lads! The faster we get to the look out, the faster our job is done!” Gavin yelled, pulling the two other men out of their stances.

“It’s just a bit of fun Gavvers, stop ruining it.” Michael said, clapping Jeremy on the shoulder who chuckled.

“Yea? And what happens when you get ahead of yourself and accidentally kill him? Burns would have your ass for killing his best assassin.” Gavin countered, leading the two men towards their destination.

“He makes a great point, and I really don’t want to die yet.” Jeremy agreed, and Michael rolled his eyes at his two friends.

“Yet? When do you want to die then?” Michael asked, and Jeremy gave it a bit of thought.

“I don’t know, maybe when I’m old and grey and hate life so much that even a bird chirping makes me want to end it all.” Gavin laughed at his answer, Michael cracked a smile at him, punching the shorter man in the shoulder.

“You think you’ll make it that far in age?” Jeremy gave Michael an offended look.

“What? You think I don’t have it in me to live a long life? I mean look at Burnie, he’s really fucking old.” Jeremy defended himself in a dramatic way, acting hurt at his friend’s lack of faith.

“Okay, first of all, Burnie is only 45. Second of all, he barely even does missions anymore, so he isn’t a good comparison.” Michael argued. “Honestly I think you’re going to die trying to save someone you love. You have a soft heart Jeremy, one that’s going to bite you in the butt.”

“I don’t think that’s such a terrible way to do at all! Defending someone you love is honourable.” Gavin said, and Michael sighed.

“I guess it really depends on who it is I’m trying to save. If it’s you two? Then yea I’d happily die to save you. Risinger though? Hell no.” Michael snorted, and Gavin cooed, teasing Jeremy for admitting he loved them.

The rest of the walk to the look-out was silent, it was a comfortable silence however, and Jeremy loved it. Most of his life was noise, especially living Livaria, but after joining the Venom Blades, he learned to love the silence considering he had to train in it. There was one noise he did miss terribly though, and that was Ryan’s laugh.

He sometimes dreamt of his laugh, and when he woke up, his heart feeling empty, he wonders if the sound has changed due to age. He knew that the man was now king, his father having died of an illness. He has no clue about Ryan’s mother, but Jeremy prays she’s okay. And becoming king meant more duties and stressed and Jeremy wonders if the man even still laughs. God, he would give up everything to hear it again, it was such a sweet sound and it never failed to warm Jeremy’s heart. For a quick moment, Jeremy let his mind wander.

_They were laying side by side, it was late at night, neither teens wanted to sleep. They had been talking endlessly for the past 5 hours, retelling random stories, reminiscing on earlier days._

_“You know I still remember that time you thought it would be so hilarious to paint my hair green. God the look on our parent’s faces when they saw it.” Jeremy said, cringing at the memory but Ryan only laughed, the sound filling Jeremy with joy. “I’ll never forgive you for that.”_

_Ryan turned to face him with a wide smile and for a moment they just stared at each other, scanning each other’s faces like it were the last time they would see each other. Jeremy had the sudden urge to lean forward and kiss him for years, but h resisted the urge and tore his eyes away from Ryan_

Jeremy really wished he had kissed Ryan that night, considering it was the night before the fire, before he was taken away from him and trained as an assassin.

“-emy? Hey fuck face!” Jeremy jolted out of his thoughts at Michael’ angry voice calling for him. “Oh, you listening now?”

“Sorry, was deep in thought.” Jeremy replied, looking around and realising they had reached their destination.

“The fuck were you thinking about?” Michael asked, arms folded in front of his chest.

“Nothing important, just the past.” Jeremy mumbled, brushing past the two lads to get to the top of the look out. He didn’t see the confused look the two of them shared but was grateful they didn’t pester him about it.

It’s not that he didn’t trust them with his past, it’s that he didn’t trust himself retelling the story, because if he thinks about it, he may just run off back to Ryan and he knew that meant immediate death from the Venom Blades.

Looking around, there was nothing suspicious in sight, so Jeremy sat down and began the wait for their job to be over. Gavin and Michael sat down as well, and they all started playing the game “a house full of gold but” game that Gavin made up. It was great for passing time and soon enough they were nearly due to leave. Jeremy stood up and scanned their surroundings, about to confirm that nothing is happening when he saw something in the distance.

Narrowing his eyes, he tried to focus on what was moving closer.

“Gavin, Michael, look at this.” Jeremy said, tone serious. The other two assassins stood up and moved next to him, eyes finding what had caught Jeremy’s interest.

“What the fuck is that?” Michael said, and Jeremy stayed still, his eyes never straying from the subject. A few seconds later he finally made out that someone was holding a banner, and a few more seconds was all it took for Jeremy to recognize the banner.

“The Mad King Edgar.” Jeremy said in shock.

“What in the bloody hell is he doing here?” Gavin asked, and Jeremy shrugged.

“No clue, but he’s heading straight for the order by the looks of it. Come on, we need to get there before he does to warn the boss.” Jeremy said, already making his way down the tower. He could hear Gavin and Michael behind him as they ran back to their base.

It was without his usual grace when he stumbled into the main hall of their base, walking quickly towards their leader who stared at him with a critical eye. Jeremy went down to one knee and bowed his head, Gavin and Michael copying him.

“Sir, the Mad King Edgar is on his way here, 5 minutes tops.” Jeremy informed.

“Rise.” The three assassins did as they were ordered, raising their heads to look at their leader. “You’re sure is him?”

“Yes sir, they carry his banner. As to whether the Mad King is with the group, we do not know.” Burnie nodded his head.

“Come stand next to me you three, let us all wait for him.” The three men obeyed, Jeremy took his position next to their leader, Michael next to him and Gavin next to Michael.

The next few minutes were tense and full of silence, but when the doors to the main hall opened, his breath caught in his throat.

Standing there, in all his mad glory, was the Mad King Edgar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's only the first chapter to this story and I already want the reunion of these two pining men. 
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated!


	3. An Evil Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mad King Edgar reveals why he has come to the Venom Blades home, and Jeremy makes a difficult decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im ignoring my responsibilities and writing this so here's another chapter even tho I said id be posting once a week. 
> 
> Also note that new relationships added to the story, they will make appearances but of course Jeremy/Ryan will be the main focus.
> 
> [Unedited] 
> 
> Also also, chapter will be like in between the word counts of 1500/4000 so they will vary in size.
> 
> Please forgive any mistakes

Jeremy’s breathing stopped. The Mad King Edgar was really here, the man who hated everything except himself, was standing right there, a wicked smirk on his face as he strolled forward. Burnie stood from his seat, head held high as his eyes never left the approaching figure. 

“Burnie Burns, Venom Blades leader, in all honesty I thought you would be more… well, impressive.” Edgar began, his movements never faulting until he got too close to the leader, the assassins around them switching to attack mode, warning the mad king back from him. Edgar only smirked at them all, staring at each one of them with a critical eye, Jeremy being the last one to receive it. 

It was unnerving the way Edgar had looked him up and down, but he tried not to show any emotion, choosing instead to clench his jaw and glare at the man. 

“I assume you didn’t come all this way to only offer insults.” Burnie replied, his tone powerful and serious. This was one of Jeremy’s favourite things about Burnie, the man had no time for petty insults and never offered his own. 

“You assume correctly. I require your services. See, I want someone dead, and your assassins may just be able to pull it off.” As Edgar talked, he paced in front of the leader, hands clasped behind his back. “The person I want dead is one of high importance, it won’t be easy to get to him but if your assassins live up to their reputations, then they may just succeed.”

“That would depend on who you want dead.” Burnie stated, and Edgars next words made Jeremy want to puke his guts out.

“I want King Haywood dead.” 

Jeremy suddenly felt dizzy, the man’s words replaying themselves over and over again in his mind. ‘No, he can’t be serious’ Jeremy thought, his mind going into a panic at the thought of being told to kill Ryan. He looked to Burnie whose eyes were also wide with disbelief, and that seemed to settle Jeremy’s nerves a little bit.

“The only people I would put my money on to get the job done is your assassins. Your best one in fact.” Jeremy felt his heart stop. It was no secret that he was the best assassin here after Burnie himself, so he was requested a lot by the more serious murders. But there was no way he could kill Ryan, even if he as offered all the gold in the world, he could never kill him. 

“Do you even understand what you are wanting from us?” Burnie replied, exasperated that someone would make such a request. “Killing King Haywood would be the end of all of us, I will not sacrifice the Venom Blades for your own petty desires.”

Edgar’s menacing smirk slowly formed into a frown, his eyes hardening, the tension in the air becoming more suffocating than ever. 

“The Haywood family are nothing but liars and traitors. They do not care about anyone but themselves. They took everything away from me, my wealth, my crown and everyone I had ever loved.” Edgar stepped forward as he spoke, his tone hard and grumbly. Jeremy placed a hand on his knife strapped to his hip, ready to attack if the man got to close to his leader. His movement did not go unnoticed by Edgar, becoming the victim of his murderous stared and barred teeth. “He deserves to die.” 

“They took all of that away from you because you are mad. You murdered thousands of people and for what? Because they didn’t want to kneel down before a king who still acts like a spoiled brat.” Jeremy blurted out and immediately he wished he hadn’t. The room was silent for a moment, and then Edgar stalked towards him, stopping inches away from him, a glare on his face.

“Watch your mouth boy. Like you said, I’m mad, and I have no reason not to kill you.” Jeremy swallowed thickly but didn’t cower, standing strong in front of Edgar.

“Actually, you do.” Burnie piped up. “You said that if we agreed you would want my best assassin to go after the king, and he is my best.” 

Honestly, Jeremy wanted to kick Burnie for saying this because there was no way in hell that would do anything for this man. But he also wanted to hug the man for saying it, because immediately Edgar backed away, an eyebrow raising at the new information.

“Is that so? I wouldn’t have expected your best to be so short.” There was chuckle in the room and Jeremy whipped his head towards Risinger, catching him the act of clasping his hand over his mouth to try and muffle his amusement. Burnie did the same, shooting a glare at the boy. 

“He is my best.” Burnie stated again, turning back to the mad king. “My apologies Edgar, but we will not be accepting your request.”

“You may want to rethink that decision.” Edgar said immediately after, as if he anticipated his decision to decline.

“And why would I do that?”

“Do you not know who killed your family?” 

Burnie’s body tensed up, eyes never leaving those of the malicious man in front of him.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Your father died unexpectedly did he not? Next your mother, brother, two sisters and yourself were ran out your home. In a month your mother would die from an unsuspected illness. Three months later your youngest sister was murdered after denying a man her body. A year later and your brother died in a mining accident. And what was it that happened to your last sister? She met a man, married him and she died in child birth. I would say she was the only one who didn’t have such a bad death. But the others? Terrible wasn’t it. All of this may not have even happened if your father never died. So how did he die?” Edgar paused, letting his words sink in to Burnie’s mind, giving the man a moment to think them over. And when saw the man’s eyes widen in realization, he spoke again. “Well, I think you know now.” 

“He killed him. King James Haywood killed him.” Burnie whispered.

“Bingo.” Edgar said, smirking at the leader.

“Now wait sir, how do we know he is speaking the truth? For all we know he is just manipulating you. We have no proof that James Haywood killed your father.” Jeremy spoke up, stepping towards his leader and laying a hand on his shoulder. He knew what Edgar was doing, knew that he was trying to get into Burnie’s head, trying to make him believe his words and agree to his request.

“We don’t have proof that he didn’t either.” Burnie said harshly. “Think about it, my dad worked for him, as a blacksmith. The only person that could have killed him so unexpectedly and without anyone causing chaos is him.”

“If that is so, then that was King James Haywood. Not King Ryan Haywood. We cannot hold him responsible for his father’s crimes.” Jeremy tried to reason, but he saw the determination for revenge in his leader’s eyes, and he knew he wouldn’t get through to the man.

“No, we can’t, but we can stop him from committing his own like his father did.” Burnie said, and again Jeremy felt sick to his stomach. “Fine, we will accept your request. Tomorrow we will start to devise a plan of attack. You may remain here Edgar, as I’m sure you would like to rest and have a say in the plan.”

“Actually, I was hoping we would travel back to my home, King Haywood’s people no doubt saw me enter the forest and it will be safer at my home.” Edgar said, a wicked smile forming on his face. 

“Good idea. Everyone get some rest tonight, especially you Jeremy, you will be the one to conduct the attack.” Burnie announced, dismissing everybody. Jeremy didn’t move from his spot, his mind having trouble processing what just happened. He looked at the mad king, breath catching as he saw that the man was staring right back at him, a grin on his face. Jeremy gave him a hard glare, walking away from the man towards his room.

Once the door was close, Jeremy let his body slump against the it, his mind racing with thoughts.

“I can’t kill him.” He whispered to himself. There was no way he could kill him; the man was his best friend and he was also the man he loved. The assassin looked around his room helplessly, his mind racing with solutions towards his predicament. 

\---

Gavin followed Michael into his room in silence, his mind was racing with what just occurred. It wasn’t just the fact that they were all now assigned to killing the King of Livaria, but how Jeremy reacted to the news. The man was trying to backtrack their leader’s decision like his depended on it, and that concerned Gavin. I mean of course, no one wants to responsible for killing a king, but it seemed as if there was something more there.

“Gavin? What’s wrong?” Michael pulled him out of his thoughts, hands clasping his arms, thumbs rubbing them softly.

“Jeremy seemed quite distraught, like as if it was physically hurting him at the idea of killing King Haywood.” Michael furrowed his eyebrows, his mind thinking over what Gavin just said. True, Jeremy did seem a little frantic about trying to make their leader decline the request.

“Maybe it’s because he’s the one that’s been chosen to commit the crime? I mean, killing a king is quite a big deal.” Michael shrugged, moving away from his lover to strip off his weapons. 

“Of course, but it just didn’t seem like Haywood was just a king to Jeremy.” Gavin said, walking towards the fireplace and collapsing on the couch. 

“What, you thinking that Jeremy is secretly in love with the king or something?” Michael asked, chuckling at the idea. He stripped off his assassin coat and walked over the couch.

“Well it’s isn’t it? I mean, the only thing we know about Jeremy is that he grew up in Livaria. So, what if, he and King Haywood were like friends or something?” Gavin theorized, staring up at Michael.

“Just because Jeremy lived in Livaria doesn’t mean he knew the king personally. I think he was trying to get Burnie to not pick him for the job. That’s all.” The ginger haired assassin sat next to his lover after starting the fire, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close. Michael closed his eyes as he held his lover close, taking his leaders suggestion to get a good night’s rest to heart.

Gavin hummed, deciding to drop the subject, only time will tell what Jeremy was truly feeling. 

\---

He’s going to leave. That was the only option, this was the only way he could get out of killing him. Yes, it meant betraying the Venom Blades, but he would rather that than killing Ryan. Jeremy only packed the necessities, his weapons, his clothes, and the one thing that will save him from being accused of trespassing. When he was kid, King James Haywood gave him a ring, one that signified his place among the royal family, one that meant he was always welcome in their home. Staring at the silver ring brought back so many memories and Jeremy couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his face, soon he will be back home, and he could only pray that Ryan would forgive him for leaving.

Waiting until everyone was truly asleep, Jeremy snuck out of his room, taking extra care to be quiet to sneak past the assassins on watch, and when he was finally in the clear, he walked for a few hours. It was two days travel to the kingdom of Livaria, one he will be happy to make. 

That night, his dreams were filled with seeing Ryan again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help myself adding Mavin to this, they are so cute, and I really love sweet Michael when they are alone <3
> 
> Ooooo but Jeremy's betrayal! What a great guy.
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated!


	4. Cause For Concern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King Haywoods spy master Lindsay brings news that leaves some cause for concern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise chapters will get longer as the story progresses, there's just not much happening right now. Though next chapter should be interesting for you all!
> 
> [Unedited]
> 
> Also just so you know, the parts in italics are flashbacks!

Ryan was glad for his training break, he felt more relaxed now, his emotions weren’t overwhelming him anymore, a luxury he hasn’t had in a while. But it was only a matter of time until they came back, they always do. The nightmare still haunted his mind, but now he could push it into the back of his thought train, staying focused on the tasks at hand. 

Currently, he was sat on his throne, an elbow resting on the arm of the seat and his head resting on his hand. To his left stood Jack, almost as bored as he was and to his right, Geoff. As much as he loved helping his citizens, the problems they come to him with are just so pathetic sometimes. In front of the throne is two very angry looking women, and a guilty looking man and Ryan could easily guess what this situation was about.

“My king, I would like these two punished.” The woman who spoke looked to be in her forties, a permanent scowl imprinted on her face. Ryan raised an eyebrow at the woman, glancing at the other two with a bored eye. The other woman looked to be in her twenties, he would have assumed she was the first woman’s daughter but given the request, he guesses not. The man looked the same age as the first woman, but instead of a scowl like her he has one pleading mercy, knowing he is the wrong with the situation at hand.

“And what crimes have they committed to earn a punishment?” Ryan asked, trying to keep himself from sighing.

“This bastard and this little witch decided it would a great idea to fuck in my kitchen! Not only is it the unfaithfulness of him, but how unsanitary it is! I’m going to have to scrub my kitchen clean for a few whole days before I can use it again and not feel like they’ve contaminated my food.” Ryan had to use all his will and power to not roll his eyes, these sorts of situations weren’t uncommon but still, what can he do? Before he could say anything, Jack stepped in, obviously annoyed at the situation being given to the king to sort out.

“The king has no time for this. This open court is for people who have no other option but to seek the kings help. I’m sure this situation can be dealt with amongst yourselves. And you will do well to remember that a cheating spouse is not a crime to be punished by the king. You may take your leave now.” Jack stated, authority in his tone. Ryan smirked and looked at Geoff, noting the near white knuckled fists at his sides and a not so very subtle lip bite. ‘Guess I won’t be seeing them for a while after this’ Ryan thought to himself.

The woman with the permanent scowl huffed, storming out of the throne room with the other two trailing behind, bodies tense as everyone watched them leave.

“Anyone else?” Jack calls, and when no one moved forward, Ryan dismissed them all, standing up from his throne and stretching.

“I can’t tell whether people are pulling pranks or just really dumb.” Geoff spoke up. Ryan chuckled at the comment, he was truly wondering the same thing.

“I wouldn’t have an answer. Thank you Jack for saving the day and me from having to deal with that.” His advisor gave him a small smile, and Ryan leaned in so only he could hear him. “Though I think you may have worked up your husband over there with that tone of yours.”

Jack smirked and looked at Geoff who was fidgeting in his spot, his face tinting a light shade of pink when he saw Jack watching him.

“Go, I’ll see you both at dinner.” Jack nodded, patting the king on the shoulder. Ryan watched as Jack grabbed Geoff’s hand and walked them out of the throne room. For a few moments, Ryan just stood there, feeling content with his life. Until, his spy master Lindsay Tuggey rushed in.

“My king, I need to speak with you urgently.” She said, wasting no time to get in front of him, bowing to him. Ryan raised an eyebrow but only nodded, beckoning her to follow him into the council room.

“As you may know, I have been scouting the northward border, and you truly won’t believe who I saw traveling into the forest.” Lindsay started as soon as the door had shut heavily behind them, the king giving the guards an order to not let anyone in under any circumstances.

“Whether I believe it or not, still tell me.” Ryan said, perching himself against the edge of the table, arms folded in front of his chest.

“The mad king.” She simply stated, and Ryan felt his blood run cold. He had never personally met the mad king, but he knew the stories, he knew of the man’s crimes and that his father had stripped him of everything aside from his life. From that day onward, the mad king had sworn to get his revenge and take over the throne.

“What in the world would lead him to the forest?” Ryan asked, scanning his brain for an answer.

“Rumour has it that an assassin order called the Venom Blades reside in the forest, my guess would be he went to them. As to why, I could not say.” An assassin order, that only meant he was planning an attack on someone.

“Right, it won’t do to pursue him then, if the rumour is true then I would rather not deal with assassins. Keep an eye on it, I will tell my guards to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.” Lindsay nodded, bowing and taking her leave.

Ryan didn't move from his spot, his mind racing with the new information. He really couldn’t think of any other reason for why Edgar would seek out the assassins other than he wanted to assassinate Ryan. It was inevitable for something like this to happen, and Ryan had indeed prepared for an attack by the man. But assassins? Assassins were stealthy, too unpredictable to form a plan against an attack from them. He could only just pray that they do not fall for the mad king’s tricks and join him.

‘I wonder how Jeremy would have reacted’ Ryan thought with a smile. He could only guess that the man would have said something along the lines “he wants to kill Ryan? Over my dead fucking body”, and that thought made the king chuckle slightly. There wasn’t a day that went by when Ryan would wish for his best friend to be by his side, making his snarky comments and laughing at people when they embarrassed themselves. That made him sound like a terrible human, but Jeremy was far from being terrible. Ryan couldn’t count all the times the other man had helped him through his training and lessons to be a warrior as well as a king.

_He was training with Geoff in the courtyard, blunt swords clashing together, sweat covering their bodies from the heat. Jeremy was watching from the side lines as always, cheering the prince on. Having his best friend there always made Ryan double his effort, trying to impress the other boy._

_He managed to knock Geoff off of his feet, sword coming down to touch the guards neck._

_“Surrender?” Ryan asked with a smirk and the older man only rolled his eyes, batting the sword away from him and standing up._

_“That’s enough for today, we’ll go again tomorrow, you still need to improve on your foot work.” Geoff said, not bothering to wait for an answer and leaving._

_“What the hell does he mean you still need to work on stuff? You were fucking fantastic.” Jeremy said, appearing beside the prince, hands on his hips, a glare pointed towards the direction in which Geoff had left. Ryan chuckled at his friend’s annoyance, subtly basking in the compliment given to him by the other boy._

_“He says that there’s always room for improvement.” Ryan said, sheathing the sword onto his hip and walking towards the castle._

_“Room for improvement my fucking ass, you’re basically as good as him now and I am willing to bet he says he’s the best and he needs no improvement.” Ryan shot a smile towards his friend who winked at him, making his heart flutter slightly, turning away before his friend could catch his flush._

_“Thank you, Jeremy, that’s very kind of you to say.” Ryan said, opening the door to his room and walking in, letting the other boy shut it. He unstrapped his sword from his body and placed it on his desk._

_“Any time buddy.” Jeremy replied, his tone soft._

Jeremy had been his support system back then, the boy always gave him encouragement and when Ryan was wrong, Jeremy was the one to step up and tell him so, but always helped him find the right answer.

Ryan felt his heart clench slightly, the longing for his friend returning. He wanted the man here, helping him when he needed him but also treating Ryan like he was just another person rather than a king. He wonder if life had been different, if Jeremy hadn’t died, would they be together? Ryan would have definitely tried to court the other man, but he couldn’t know if Jeremy would have allowed him. And now he will never know.

Ryan was pulled out of his thoughts by a light knocking, the guard Mica entering the room after given entry by the king.

“I am sorry to disrupt you my king, but dinner has been served.” Dinner? Had he really been in here for that long?

“Thank you, I will be there soon. Tell them to start without me.” She nodded and left the room, leaving Ryan to right himself.

Maybe in another life, he would be Jeremy’s and Jeremy would be his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have so many ideas for the reunion chapter like im actually so shook and cant decided which one to go for, either way its gonna be a bit angst and sad with a smidge of fluff.


	5. Run Away Assassins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael and Gavin go after Jeremy and make a discovery. A decision is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm honestly so in the zone with this story that I can't for the life of me stop writing and my studying is suffering. 
> 
> [Somewhat Edited]

Gavin was startled awake by the sound of someone pounding on his door, or Michael’s door to be exact, a man’s voice yelling at them to open up. Gavin looked at Michael who was scrambling out of bed, pulling on his pants, forgoing a shirt and running to the door. He copied the curly haired boy, but with more finesse than him and caught up to him as soon as he started opening the door.

“Burnie! Felt like trying to break down a door this morning, did you?” Michael said sarcastically, hand running over the dents made only by Burnie’s fist. Behind their leader stood the mad king and Jon, both looking slightly irritated.

“Shut it Jones. You two wouldn’t happen to know where the fuck Jeremy is?” Burnie asked harshly, and those words made Gavin’s blood run cold, he knew something like this was going to happen.

“No, we wouldn’t have a clue. As you can see, we just woke up by your god damn fist.” Michael said, his anger starting to flare. The lad hated it when people spoke to him in harsh tones, it always triggered his own rage. 

“I swear to fucking if he has run off.” The leader mumbled. “You two, fucking find him, he’s your friend and you have better chances of finding him. And hurry it up, we don’t have all fucking day.” They both nodded, the red headed lad mumbling a sarcastic “yes sir”. Michael closed the door once the three men had walked off, starting to speak without hesitation. 

“Jesus fucking christ Jeremy, you better not have done anything stupid.” Michael said mostly to himself, going about putting his gear on. Gavin did so too, but quietly, his mind running with possibilities of where their friend could be. The obvious idea would be that the man had gone off towards Livaria, and while he didn’t want to believe that as it would mean betrayal, it was the only thing that made sense. “Any ideas Gav?” 

“He’s got to be heading to Livaria.” Gavin said immediately, strapping on his quiver full of arrows. 

“Not this again. You really think he’s going to King Haywood?” Michael huffed, finishing tying up his boots and walking over to his lover, fixing up his hair for the him. 

“Where else would he be going? It’s obvious he doesn’t want to kill the king and his best bet is to go to Haywood, tell him about the assassination plan and try to get the kings protection.” Gavin said, his tone serious. Michael sighed but nodded, placing a quick kiss against his lips and moving away, grabbing his sword. 

“If you’re right, we need to move quickly, he’ll be moving as well and we both know how quick he can be.” Gavin hummed in agreement following Michael out of the room and towards the exit of the building. Before they could leave, they were stopped by Jon.

“You two better bring that traitor back, and there will be no delays.” Michael glared at the man, not hesitating to step forward, sizing the man up. 

“You’re not the fucking boss jackass, so get out of our fucking way, or I will make you.” Michael growled out, and he knew Jon would move away. True, Jon was taller, but what Michael lacked in height, he had in strength. Jon scowled at him but moved away, leaving to join another assassin named Barbara. Michael glared one more time at the man before leaving, Gavin following closely behind. “Okay, which way babe?” 

“South.” He said simply, trying to hide the blush that formed on his face from the endearment, however, Michael easily caught it. Michael chuckled slightly, walking south.

It took an hour for them to even find one sign of Jeremy, and pile of burnt wood, a tell-tale sign of a recently lit fire. 

After two more hours had gone by, the two of them began to pick up their paces, running and jogging ever chance they got to try and catch up with their friend. For someone as short as Jeremy, he sure covered ground quickly. 

Another thirty minutes and they finally tracked down the man, finding him perched on a rock, obviously taking a break.

“Jeremy fucking Dooley, you better have a great fucking reason for making us play chase.” Michael yelled out, storming towards the man. Jeremy shot up into a standing defensive position, backing away from the angry man. “Not only did we have to deal with a fucking pissed Burnie, but Jon tried to fucking order me around. The dumb bastard thinks he’s all tough shit.”

Jeremy didn’t reply, he only huffed and grabbed his pack, throwing it on his shoulders and walking away. Michael huffed angrily, running past the man and stopping front of him, arms crossed over his chest.

“Get out of my way.” Jeremy said softly, he sounded tired and truly, he was. He got no sleep last night, paranoid that assassin was going to find him and drag him back, and there was no way in hell he was every going back willingly. It’s wasn’t just the fact that they want him to kill Ryan, it’s the fact that Burnie agreed to join hands with the mad king, a petty man with unrealistic dreams. However, said dreams did just become that little bit more realistic now that he has the Venom Blades with him. 

“No.” Michael said, and Jeremy glared at him, wanting to punch his friend in the face but really, he doesn’t want to fight with him. Instead he turned towards Gavin, who looked as if he was studying Jeremy.

“Get him out of my way.” He ordered, but Gavin didn’t move, only stood there with an arm crossed his chest, his other resting on it and hand resting on his chin. 

“What are you doing Jeremy?” Gavin asked, walking forward to his friend.

“None of your business.” Jeremy huffed, and as he tried to get around Michael, he was pushed back by the angry man. Jeremy sighed in irritation, scowling at his friend. 

“It is our business idiot, we were sent to come find you and bring you back. And we need to know why you left in the first place, so we can find another reason that won’t get you killed.” Jeremy rolled his eyes, staring down at his feet as he tried to calm down.

“I-“ He started but then stopped, breathing in deeply and letting it out slowly. “I can’t kill the king. I can’t, and I won’t.” 

“Why? I mean yea, it’s a big fucking task but it’s doable with your skill.” Michael huffed, and Jeremy’s form slumped. He stayed quiet, his eyes stuck on the grass underneath his feet.

“Jeremy, why can’t you kill him?” Gavin asked softly, his tone offering comfort and kindness. Jeremy looked at him, his face distraught and tired. Gavin placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. “You can tell us. We won’t tell anyone.”

Jeremy did believe him, but it didn’t make it any easier to talk about it. However, he forced himself to breath, letting his body relax as he started speaking. 

“When I was born, my family lived in Livaria. It was such a wonderful place, so peaceful and relaxing. Barely anything bad happened there, the only crimes that happened there were small cases of thievery and harassment. My mother was a royal cook and my dad was a blacksmith. So of course, they were quite well known to the royal family and were actually quite close to them. And because of this, I was often allowed in the castle, thus making my best friend the now King Ryan Haywood.

“We were practically inseparable, every day we were together, playing together and learning together. We grew up together, we laughed together, we cried together. He was my best friend, and more than that he was, no, is the man I love. I loved him so god damn much and I never told him because how could a prince want me? I was lucky enough to have him as a friend.”

For a moment, his friends were silent, their minds processing this new information. Gavin was the one to speak up first.

“Why did you leave and become an assassin?” 

“One night, someone set fire to my house, killing my parents, my two brothers and my sister. The only reason I didn’t die was because someone barged in and dragged me out. That someone, was Burnie. He saved me and decided to take me with him and train me to be an assassin. Given the choice, I wouldn’t have gone. But I felt as if I owed him my life, so I stayed.” Jeremy could feel tears forming in his eyes, the memory of that night forming in his mind. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve, trying to appear tough to his friends. 

Gavin moved closer to Jeremy, hugging the man to give some sort of comfort. He had never seen the man so upset, so distraught and emotional, he was always to positive, never letting anything ruin his mood. Gavin glanced at Michael who looked deep in thought, his face emotionless. 

“I can’t kill him.” Jeremy whispered, and Gavin nodded.

“We won’t make you.” He whispered back, leaning away from him and turning to Michael, moving towards his lover. 

“He didn’t have a choice.” Michael said, his mind focused on the fact that Jeremy didn’t choose to be an assassin, that he was practically forced.

“We can’t take him back. Burnie will either kill him or force him to kill the king, and we both now know what option he would take.” Gavin said, and Michael nodded, agreeing with his lover. “We can’t exactly leave him either.” 

Michael looked at him like he had grown a second head, not liking where he was going with that statement.

“Do you really want to work with the mad king? Besides, if we go back, we would still be tasked with trying to kill the king, and I’d rather not betray Jeremy like that.” Gavin reasoned.

“So, we betray the order instead? We will be hunted.” 

“If all goes well, we may just get protection from the king. “

“And if all goes bad?” 

“Then we fight them all off and be rid of them or we die together.” 

Michael stared at him for a long moment, searching his eyes for any uncertainty but there was none, Gavin had made his decision and Michael wouldn’t be able to change that. And truly, he didn’t want to change it anyways. Jeremy is more important to them than the order could ever be, their friend would always come first to them. 

“Okay, we’ll go with him.” Michael confirmed, and Gavin grinned, pressing a kiss to his cheek and walking over to Jeremy. The man was leaning against a tree, scanning the around them for any intruders. 

“Jeremy, as your friends, we want to go with you. No doubt you will need some other people with you to confirm the what the mad king plans.” Gavin announced, and Jeremy stared at him with a shocked expression that quickly turned into a smile a wide smile. 

“You two would really betray the order to come with me?” He asked softly, bewildered at their decision. 

“Yea, the missions were getting a bit boring anyways. And I really fucking hate Jon, so it isn’t much of a difficult decision.” Michael piped up, moving forward so he stood with them. He placed a hand on Jeremy’s should and smiled at his friend. 

“Thank you.” Jeremy whispered to both of them. “It’s a day’s travel to the kingdom, with any luck, we will be there tomorrow morning If we continue the moment dawn begins.”

“Excellent. Lead the way buddy.” Michael said, and Jeremy quickly gave them both a hug, picking up his pack again and leading the way. He knew the Venom Blades will be after all three of them, but together, they could beat them with no problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaay for friendship. I feel bad for making them hate Jon so much but he is honestly such good villain material.


	6. Livaria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three assassins arrive in Livaria, Ryan gets some good and bad news from his spymaster and an idiotic plan is set into motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, be excited for the next chapter ;)
> 
> [Unedited]

True to his word, it only took another day for the three assassins to arrive at the Kingdom of Livaria. That fortunately hadn’t run into any other Venom Blades assassins, but they knew they would be deemed traitors amongst them now. Their biggest worry as of this moment however, was how they were going to get into Livaria without raising suspicion. 

It didn’t take them long to find a side of the kingdom that wasn’t being patrolled, and with their combined stealth and swiftness, they managed to get into the centre of the city without much hassle. 

“We need to find a store that sells clothing, it will help us blend in more if we wear something a bit more normal.” Gavin said, the other two assassins humming their agreements.

“I know a place, let’s just hope they are still open for business!” Jeremy said, starting their trek to the store he had in mind. The place he had in mind was called Luna and Shawcross Attire, once run by two men who had been friends since birth, and Jeremy could only hope that it was still in business. His reason being is that the style of the clothing was gorgeous and still very cheap, he often wore their clothing when he was younger, and the idea of reliving that made his heart swell. 

It was difficult for him to enter the kingdom, not physically but mentally, the memories soaring into his mind all at once. He could almost see his younger self running around with younger Ryan, laughing and chasing each other. Could see his mother at one of the food stalls, buying him his favourite food and handing it to him with a kind smile. His father showing off his newly crafted sword with Jeremy perched on his shoulders, smiling down at the people staring at the sword in awe. He could feel his heart clenching, he forgot how much he loved Livaria. For a moment, he had tears fall from his eyes, the man quickly wiping them away. And if Michael and Gavin saw the tears, they didn’t mention anything. 

On their way to the shop, they got some looks of curiosity thrown their way, but they kept their heads down, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves. Jeremy sighed with relief when the store came into view, the sign above the doorway still the same. They strolled in and for a moment Jeremy wanted to burst into tears, everything was the same, nothing had been changed and he had never been happier in the last 8 years. 

“Good afternoon gentlemen! Is there anything I can help you with today?” A man at the front desk said cheerily, but it wasn’t a man Jeremy remembered, coming to the conclusion that it must be a son of either Luna or Shawcross.

“Just looking for some new clothes, any recommendations?” Gavin piped up, and Jeremy silently thanked him, knowing that f he was the one to speak, his voice would crack from emotion. 

“The line of coats against the left wall are our top selling currently, very warm but do not constrict any body movements, handy if you’re going hunting!” Another man said, coming out from what Jeremy assumed was a storage room. Jeremy went about looking at some pants, hands gliding over the familiar fabric, eyes shining in awe of the design. It didn’t take the three of them long to find some new clothes, Jeremy being the first to head for the desk to buy the clothing.

“Ah! Marvelous choices! The names Kerry by the way, the other one is Miles.” Kerry introduced, starting to fold the clothes and putting them on a piece of paper to wrap in. 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Tim.” Jeremy said, forgoing his real name. He didn’t want to risk being recognized so soon in case some runs to Ryan, that would completely destroy his plan. 

“Likewise, you know, you look very familiar.” Miles said, staring at Jeremy with curiosity. 

“Is that so? I wouldn’t count on you having met me before, I only just arrived in the kingdom today and I have never been here in my life.” Lies made their way off of his tongue so easily, and it almost made him feel guilty to lie to these two men considering he knew them quite well back then.

“Oh? And what brings you to Livaria?” Kerry asked, wrapping up his brand-new clothing.

“New beginning hopefully!” He replied, but then Miles clapped his hands, making the him jump in surprise and pointing at him like he had just committed a crime.

“You look like Jeremy.” For a moment all was silent, broken by Kerry huffing at his friend.

“Jeremy is dead dumbass.” Kerry scolded, and Miles held up his hands in defense. And wait? What? Everyone thought he was dead? He’d assumed they’d think him missing but not dead! 

“Who is Jeremy?” He asked, acting like this was the first time he had ever heard that name. He could feel Michael and Gavin’s presence behind him, comforting him slightly. 

“A good lad that died from a house fire 8 years ago. It was very tragic, he was also best friends with at the time Prince Ryan Haywood. They were practically inseparable, many had bets that they would marry.” Jeremy’s eyes widened at that last comment, was he really that obvious in his affection towards the other boy? “We knew him, had become friends with him actually. And when he died, the royal family grieved him and his family. Rumour has it that they even held a private funeral for them.”

Jeremy needed leave, his emotions were rising in his chest up to his throat, choking him slightly. They held a private funeral for him and his family, Ryan thinks he’s dead, burned alive long with his family. God, this new information is going to make everything a lot harder than he thought. Going missing is one thing but being presumed dead is another.

“That, uh, sounds terrible.” Jeremy said, trying to keep his composure.   
“Yea, it was! He was such a great guy, a lot of people loved him. Anyways, here’s your stuff, thank you for shopping here!” Kerry said, a kind smile plastered on his face. Jeremy nodded his thanks, leaving and waiting for his friends outside. He must of lost himself in his head because the next thing he knew was a punch being planted on his arm, forcing him out of his thoughts. 

“Come on, we need to change.” Michael grumbled, leading the way to the local Inn Jeremy had told them about. 

“You okay Jeremy?” Gavin asked, whispering so no one heard him. Jeremy only nodded, not trusting his voice to not convey emotion. Soon they were at the Inn, Michael booking them two rooms while Gavin and Jeremy waiting on the side lines. Once Michael had paid, a kind woman by the name of Meg lead them to their assigned rooms, and to Michael’s misfortune, she was not so subtly flirting with Gavin. As soon as she left, sending a wink Gavin’s way, Michael grabbed his lover and dragged him to their room, shutting the door. Jeremy only rolled his eyes, walking into his own room, shutting the door and throwing all of his stuff onto the bed. 

He quickly got dressed into his new clothes, sitting down on the bed to give his legs a bit of rest. His mind was still going over the fact that everyone thought him to be dead, and while it made sense as to why they would think that, it was still daunting. And when he does confront Ryan, he will either receive relief or anger from the man, if he were to be honest, the anger seemed more realistic. 

The assassin laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling for a long while, eventually letting the exhaustion of the day take over his mind and he fell asleep. 

It was only an hour later when he was awoken by the smell of food and his two friends sitting on his bed. Jeremy sat up slightly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Michael wordlessly handed him a plate of food and he took it happily, digging into the chicken and vegetables. 

“So, Gavin and I were thinking about where an assassin attack may take place, and guys from the clothing store said something about open courts and that sounded quite promising. We did some asking around and the next one is in a week.” Jeremy nodded at his words. They had decided to await the inevitable first assassin attack, thinking it would help convince the king that it was truly in danger. And truly, Jeremy wasn’t keen on just storming into the castle shouting ‘Hey buddy, it’s me! The mad king wants you dead and you’re going to have some assassins to deal with sometime soon!’ 

“Good idea, we’ll have to try and scout the castle to find places to hide while attending the court.” Jeremy replied and they both nodded, feeling content with their plan at hand. Together they enjoyed the rest of the meal, all deciding to retire to their beds early.

\---

Ryan was just about to change into his bed cloths before Lindsay stormed in, alarming the king, his hand ready at the hilt of the sword still strapped to him. The woman smirked, throwing her hands in defense.

“It’s only me.” She said, and Ryan rolled his eyes.

“You need to seriously stop storming in here, I could be naked one of these days and do you really want to see that?” He started to take of his armour, sighing in relief at the feeling of not being weighed down by iron.

“I wouldn’t be opposed.” Ryan pulled a face at her and she laughed. “Anyways, I come baring bad and good news!”

“Tell me the good news first.” Ryan sighed, collapsing on the couch, gesturing for Lindsay to do the same. 

“The good news is that the mad king was spotted heading back to his land of outcasts.” She announced, sitting down on the couch, legs coming up to rest on the little table in front of it.

“Wonderful! What’s the bad news?” 

“He was leaving with a bit more people than he arrived with. My assumption is that he’s made an alliance with the rumoured Venom Blades and is bringing them back with him.” Ryan grimaced at this, if Edgar has truly allied with a group of assassins, that means that something dreadful is being planned in that malicious mind of his. 

“What’s the bet he’s planning to assassinate me.” Lindsay stared at him for a moment, silent before speaking in a soft tone.

“He won’t succeed. Geoff will give his life before anyone can hurt you, and so will I.” Somehow, that didn’t make him feel any better. He tipped his head back, staring up at the ceiling and wishing his father had just killed Edgar. “Everything will be okay, try and get some sleep my king.”

And with that, Lindsay left the room, closing the door softly. Ryan closed his eyes, feeling the beginnings of a headache forming. He should have really suspected his father’s choices would lead to him suffering the consequences, but he wouldn’t blame him for his choice towards Edgar, he wholeheartedly agreed with it in all honesty.

Ryan let out a heavy breath as he got up from the couch, dressing out of his daily clothes and into his bed cloths. Climbing into his bed, he pulled the blankets tight around him, closing his eyes. That night, he barely got any sleep.

\---

The land of outcasts isn’t what Burnie imagined, he would have pictured a burnt down kingdom, with dead bodies littering the ground and crimes being committed every second. He didn’t expect such a controlled and somewhat quite place, there was nothing burned down, and the streets were clean of everything except dirt and stones. And then there was the castle that the mad king lived in, it was finely decorated, it almost seemed as if he was never stripped of who he was.

But he wasn’t here to gawk at everything, he was here on business, a business that was now a lot more difficult having just lost three of his better assassins. He should have expected Jeremy to run off, but he didn’t expect Michael and Gavin to follow him, and now he wants all three of them dead.

As of this moment he was in the mad king’s war room, discussing a plan to kill King Haywood, and it was truly more difficult than he thought.

“Why can’t we just waltz right in and shoot an arrow through his forehead?” Jon asked, annoyed as they have been discussing this for the past 2 hours.

“Because Jeremy, Michael and Gavin will most likely be keeping an eye out, they will see us coming from a mile away.” Burnie snapped, glaring at Jon like he was dumbest person in the land. Jon rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall and playing with his knife.

“You don’t know that! Just send someone in, see what happens.” Burnie growled in irritation, shooting Jon a look to shut the fuck up.

“That’s a terrible idea.” He huffed.

“And sometimes terrible ideas work the best.” Edgar piped up. “Just send in one of your more disposable assassins. If they die, then we know, if they succeed, well plan well done!”

Burnie sighed, head dropping between his shoulders, knowing he will have to say yes as the two won’t let it go. He turned to Jon, glaring at him.

“Go tell Chris to get his ass here right now.” Burnie ordered, and Jon sprang into action, leaving the room and running to get the assassin.

It only took them a few minutes to get back, and Chris looked slightly concerned. 

“Listen up, you’re going to Livaria. There’s an open court next week and I want you there. Once there, you are too shoot an arrow straight through the king’s head or heart or whatever, as long as it kills him. You got it?” Burnie said, and Chris nodded quickly, swallowing thickly. “Good, now get out.” 

Chris scrambled out of the room, heading to his newly assigned room and getting his stuff ready for his new mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, I do love Jon in real life he just has a really nice villain vibe okay. 
> 
> And dang, poor Chris.


	7. Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An attack is made on King Haywood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y O so like I found a song that im making Ryan and Jeremy's theme for this, he like makes you emotions rise to an extreme if you read their flashbacks and scenes when listening to it. It's called Pale Lights by This Patch of Sky (it's an instrumental so there's no singing).
> 
> Also note the new relationship and new warning <3
> 
> [Unedited]

The next week consisted of the three assassins sneaking into the castle, learning it’s layout and discovering hiding spots within it. It wasn’t much of a challenge for Jeremy, he already knew the layout so well, having practically lived here half his life. There were moments when he thought he would caught, the guards getting just that close to where he was hiding, but they eventually turned their backs, letting the assassin escape.

However, there was one moment when he wanted to be found. He was looking around the meeting room, the room itself wasn’t that valuable to them as he doubted an attack would happen here, but it always paid off to take extra precaution. All was well until the door swung open, making Jeremy jump into a hiding spot, cloaking himself in the darkness of a corner, behind a well-placed pillar that allowed him to see who walked in. 

And just his luck, it was King Haywood himself, along with his advisor Jack Pattillo and Captain of the Guard Geoff Ramsey.

A breath caught in his throat when he caught sight of Ryan, he looked so tired and stressed, but damn, he aged perfectly. He was still tall as hell, not that Jeremy expected the man to shrink, and the amour he wore made him look so strong and intimidating. But seeing his blue eyes dulled by stressed and his body tense, his mouth a permanent frown, it all made Jeremy ache to go to him and hug him, tell him that he’s doing so fucking well and there has never been a better king. 

But he couldn’t move, he couldn’t show himself just yet, maybe after open court if nothing happens but right now, he just can’t. 

“My king, please tell us what’s wrong.” Jack said softly and Ryan’s whole body sagged, collapsing in his seat. 

“Lindsay has made me aware that the mad king was spotted going into the northern forest last week, and only a day later he left back in the direction of the land of outcasts, but he had some new companions with him.” Ryan said, and Jeremy nearly wept with how exhausted the man sounded. He never did enjoy it when Ryan wasn’t happy, he had always made it his mission to make the other man smile even in the darkest of times. 

“What! When did you she tell you this! Why didn’t you tell us immediately?” Geoff exasperated, his eyes wide and fists clenched, 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I didn’t, but I did. Maybe just tell you two made it all the more real, that it was reality that he may just be planning to kill me soon.” Ryan sighed out.

“Who were the other companions?” Jack asked, leaning forwards on his hands on the table. 

“Lindsay says, and it could just be a rumour, that an assassin order called the Venom Blades resided in the forest, we have theorized that the mad king has allied with them.” And Christ, Jeremy needed to leave. Ryan already knew so much of what was happening, though he only believes it to be a rumour of the assassins. 

“If that is true, then we need to be doubling the guards as of this moment. Assassins are too unpredictable.” Jack said, his tone rough now. Geoff hummed his agreement, mumbling an ‘on it’ and leaving the room. 

“It could just be a rumour.” Ryan argued, and Jeremy felt the need to run in and tell him everything, that it wasn’t a rumour, that it was happening, and he needs protection. 

“Rumour or not, we still need to be careful until we know more.” Jack argued back, the king just sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing at his forehead to try and heal the pain of a headache. “Try and get some rest my king, you are less favorable when you’re tired and grumpy.”

Ryan glared at Jack’s back when the man left the room. And when the door closed, Jeremy could hear the man curse under his breath. Jeremy looked down at his feet, his heart aching, wanting nothing more than to just go over to his best friend and comfort him, tell him that everything will be alright and that if anyone wanted to kill him, they would have to go through himself first. He fiddled with the ring on his finger, tracing the engravings on it. He had only put the ring on a few days ago, thinking that if he did get caught in the castle, maybe the ring could save him. He looked up to where Ryan sat, his head in his hands, he was taking deep calming breathes. And all too soon, he got up from the chair, righting his hair and made for the exit, closing the door softly behind him.

Jeremy had let out a relieved breath, scrambling to get out of the room and the castle. He didn’t tell Michael and Gavin about that, it wasn’t really necessary for them to know. 

It was only a few days later that they were all perched around the throne room, well hidden in places that they could still see the room easily. Jeremy was perched on a beam just above the throne, hidden in the shadows, scanning the audience attending the open court. No one looked so suspicious or familiar, and it made his calm down slightly. There was however, one man with his hood up, leaning against a pillar, watching the room and never interacting with anyone. Jeremy caught Michaels eye, the man blending into the audience, and he made a signal towards the hooded man, both assassins keeping their eyes on him. 

Gavin was also perched on a beam, though on the opposite side of the room to Jeremy and more in the corner. He was watching the door, taking note of each and every one of the civilians that entered. 

Only a few minutes later did the open court start, the room quieting down as King Haywood entered, and Jeremy almost fell off his beam at how gorgeous the king looked, dressed in royal blues, a sword strapped to his side, the hilt golden and glistening. His hair was neatly combed, and he had a kind smile on his face, nodding at everyone who greeted him, and he could hair some men and woman gossip about how god-like the king was. In Jeremy’s honest opinion, they weren’t wrong one bit. 

The king sat down in his throne, looking as strong and powerful as his father did. 

“Everyone that would like to raise an issue or concern with the king please line up at the entrance of the room.” Jack called and about a dozen people moved into a line. Jack scanned the line carefully, making sure there wasn’t anyone they knew would waste their time. Luckily, there wasn’t and nodded at the king. Ryan smiled, gesturing the first person to step forward. 

“Good morning my king, I hope you are doing well.” The blacksmith Adam said, bowing as when he stopped in front of the throne. 

“I am, thank you. What can I help you with today Adam?” Ryan replied, his voice a kind tone. Jeremy smiled at the sound of it, of course Ryan would be so kind to his people, the man never wanted to be anything else but kind. 

“As you may know my king, not too long ago I have been having trouble with the horse master Joel Heyman, to try and solve these problems I had asked my forge be moved. And even since moving, the problems have stayed.” Adam said, turning to point at Joel when he mentioned him, the other man calling out ‘it’s rude to point’.

“What problems are you speaking off?” Ryan asked, smirking at the huff Joel let out. 

“He keeps leaving things in my work space, things like flowers and trinkets and sometimes food! He moves some of my equipment around, which I specifically place to make my job easier. He’s screwing with me and it’s throwing off my work days.” Adam said, his face going red with frustration. 

Ryan sat for a long moment, glancing at Adam and then behind him at Joel who was wide eyed and looking a bit embarrassed. Just from that description, Ryan knew exactly what was going on and it definitely wasn’t what Adam thought. 

“Heyman, please step forward, next to Ellis.” Ryan called, standing up and walking towards where the blacksmith stood, waiting for his horse master to stand with them. Ryan lowered his voice for the next words he spoke, making sure the rest of the room couldn’t hear him. “Joel, I think you need to be a bit blunter with what you are trying to tell Adam. I would suggest you both go somewhere to talk about this, and speak only the truth Joel, I know how you love to avoid it at times. Adam, please be patient and just listen to Joel, he’s not good with words.” 

The two men had very different expressions, Adam had one of confusion and Joel had one of utter dread. Ryan only nodded at them to leave, turning to sit in his throne again. The two men left, Joel leading them, avoiding all the knowing gazes being shot his way. 

Ryan nodded at the next person, or people in this case, to step forward, recognizing them as Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross.

“What can I do for you two today?” He asked after they gave him their greeting. 

“We were wondering if we could be permitted approval to expand our building, we have been planning to start selling accessories along with the clothes, but currently there is no space. It would only be a little expansion, barely noticeable by our estimates.”

Ryan nodded along, agreeing to the expansion, because how could he decline this small ask from the people that made his clothes. The two men gave him their thanks and well wishes, leaving the room quickly to get started on their expansion. 

Jeremy was so lost in watching Ryan be a king that the forgot to keep an eye on the hooded figure, and when he moved his eyes to where he saw him first, the man was gone. Jeremy scanned the room, trying to find the figure, noting that Michael had changed position to one slightly closer to the king and off to the side. 

When he finally found the man, his heart stopped. He was the next in line to speak to the king, walking towards the throne with purposeful strides. 

It all happened in slow motion. 

The hooded man let a knife slip into his hand under his sleeve, moving back slightly and throwing the blade at the king. There was a loud shout which sounded slightly like Michael, and Jeremy watched as the ginger haired man snatched a shield from one of the guards, throwing it in front of the king, the large disc blocking the knife from hitting Ryan. Jeremy dropped from the beam, landing in between the victim and attacker, his back to the king. 

He stalked towards the hooded man, dodging a punch thrown at him, his own fist coming to collide with the man’s abdomen, knocking the breath of him. He kicked the man’s legs out from underneath him, making him land on his back. Quicker than Jeremy had thought, the man jumped up, his hood falling from his head, showing his identity.

Chris. 

“So, this is where you three went huh? Protecting a worthless king?” Chris taunted, and Jeremy’s anger flared. He dashed towards the other assassin, fist at the ready to catch him in the jaw, but Chris dodged it, foot raising to kick Jeremy in the back, making the man stumble. 

Jeremy huffed, whirling around into a jump, his boot colliding with Chris’ face. He grabbed Chris, kneeing him in the stomach, making the man fall to his knees. Jeremy sent one last punch to his face, feeling the assassins nose crack under his knuckles. Chris fell onto his back, groaning in pain. Jeremy straddled the man, sending a flurry of punches onto Chris’ face, his fist turning red and bloody. Beofre he could punch him to death however, he was pulled off by Gavin and Michael, the two assassins holding their friend back from making the situation any worse.

Jeremy watched as some guards picked up the beaten down assassin, dragging him away.

“Get him cleaned up and then throw him in a cell.” Ryan ordered. He was in shock, anyone would be when they just had a knife thrown at them, the intention being to kill him. Then there had been a flash of a black and red coat in front of him, and he watched stunned as the person to jumped down in front of him attacked the man who tried to kill him, almost killing the man before he was pulled away by two other people. The two who held the man back worse similar coats, the buffer one worse one of green and black, the other wore green and white.

Ryan watched as his guards dragged the bloodied and bruised body away to get cleaned. He then glanced at the three new people, the one with the green and white coat with slimmer than the other two, his light brown hair sticking up in all directions. The man with the green and black coat seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face, his wild ginger curls making him look fierier. 

The man in the black and red coat was buffer than the other two, shorter as well. His hair was cropped, the strands on the top of his head longer than the hair around his head. His eyes were brown and somewhat familiar to Ryan, his mouth drawn into a frown as he tried to calm down. Ryan looked down his body and caught a glimpse of silver on the man’s hand, the ring seemed familiar to him. 

“Show me that ring on your hand.” Ryan called to him and the man looked at him, eyebrows furrowing, sighing as he stepped towards the king. Ryan saw Jacks concerned expression in the corner of his eye, not acknowledging it as he stood from his throne. The man took the ring off and handed it to the king, and Ryan took it carefully, scanning the silver band.

His breath caught as he looked at the engraving, his family’s sigil. There was only one person outside of the royal family that could have this, and Ryan felt tears threatening to slip from his eyes. The next word his spoke sounded as if he was choking.

“Jeremy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY I HAD TO LEAVE THIS ON A CLIFFHANGER, BUT THEN IM LIKE NOT SORRY.
> 
> Also id like to apologise to Chris, you are cool dude but you just had to be beaten up.


	8. Reunion Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't think of a summary because I don't want to to spoil anything for the reunion. As you can see, this is only part one of the reunion, there is more to come. 
> 
> [Unedited]

No, it couldn’t be him… Jeremy was dead! He’s been dead for 8 years! There’s no way that this man could be Jeremy. But as Ryan kept staring at him, he recognized him more.

“Jeremy?” Ryan croaked out, emotions overwhelming his senses, tears threatening to leave his eyes. Jeremy looked as if he was holing in emotions as well, his eyes red rimmed and his jaw clenched. 

“Yea, it’s me.” Jeremy whispered out, and Ryan couldn’t stop himself from wrapping his arms around the shorter man, holding him close, afraid that this was all just a dream and he would wake up from it soon. Jeremy wrapped his arms around Ryan’s waist, holding him just as tightly, and he never wanted to let go, not when he’s been deprived of these hugs for 8 years. 

The two men stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, completely forgetting the audience they had. Ryan reluctantly pulled away, looking up to the civilians still littered around the throne room.

“You are dismissed, due to the unforeseen circumstances, open court will continue the same time next week.” Ryan said, watching as his people filed out of the room, the guards shutting the doors as soon as they had all left. For a long moment, all was silent, and then Geoff spoke up.

“How do we know this man is actually Jeremy?” He asked, and Ryan extended his arm towards the captain, handing him the ring Jeremy bore. 

“My parents gave him this ring on his 8th birthday, that ring signifies that he is always welcome in this kingdom and in this castle.” Ryan said, giving Jeremy a tiny smile. Jeremy smiled back but Ryan could see the less than happy emotion in his eyes. 

“Okay, but what if the person who burned his family alive just took this off of him? How do we know that he is truly Jeremy and not some imposter using his ring?” Jack piped up, unwilling to give in so easily. Before Ryan could say anything, Jeremy turned to Jack and started speaking.

“When I was 13 I was wandering the castle, looking for Ryan of course, but as I rounded the corner of a hallway I stumbled upon you and Geoff making out against the wall. When you two noticed that I caught you, Geoff turned to me and said, ‘say one word about this to anyone and I will make you clean the horse stables until you are old and grey’ then you scolded Geoff for the threat and turned to me and said ‘keep this between us for now alright?’.” Jack raised an eyebrow, studying him for a long moment before nodding.

“He’s definitely Jeremy.” Jack mumbled, and Jeremy smiled, winking at him. Ryan snorted, more so at the store rather than the wink Jeremy sent Jack’s way.

“Yes, he is, and I humbly welcome you back into this castle and the kingdom of Livaria.” Ryan said, a wide, charming smile plastered onto his face. Jeremy stepped forward, hugging Ryan again, wanting to weep in joy but refrained. “It’s good to have you back.”

“That may be, but I do bring bad news.” Jeremy said, pulling away from the king, a serious expression taking over his face. Ryan’s eyebrows furrowed but he nodded at him to talk. “The Mad King Edgar has allied with a group of assassins called the Venom Blades and plans to assassinate you. That man that I just saved you from is one of the assassins.” 

“How do you know this?” Geoff asked quickly, and Ryan could hear Jeremy swallow thickly.

“Because I was a Venom Blade.” Jeremy confessed, and Ryan’s body went cold, taking a step away from Jeremy. His movement did not go unnoticed by his friend, the man looking at him, a plea in his eyes. “I’m not here to assassinate you if that’s what you think, I betrayed them to come warn you and help you.” 

“Yea? And what about those two behind you? They betray them too? Or are they lying to you and plan to assassinate the king.” Lindsay spoke up, leaning against one of the pillars in the room. 

“No, they wouldn’t! They are my friends and wished to help me with this.” Jeremy defended.

“They are assassins, they are unpredictable, even if they say they are your friends.” Jack said, glaring at the two behind Jeremy.

“Hey! We are right here, you want to talk shit about us, say it to our fucking faces.” Michael shouted, stepping forward, causing a reaction from the guards. All of them reached for their swords, waiting for Michael to make another move.

“Michael please, you’ll only make it worse.” Gavin said softly, reaching for his lover’s arm to pull him back beside him. Michael did as he was told, glaring at Jack.

Ryan, quiet during this whole encounter, sat in his throne. Jeremy is an assassin? All these years, while Ryan thought he was dead, he was actually training to be an assassin. He left him, left Ryan to become a criminal, left Ryan to believe his best friend, the man he was in love with, was dead. 

Jeremy watched Ryan, catching all the emotions that flickered across his face. Quickly, he unstrapped his sword, taking out all of his knives and dropping them to the ground. He stepped forward to the throne, kneeling in front of it, not caring at the hard stares he was being sent by Geoff and Lindsay and all of the guards.

“Ryan please, you need to understand that I’m not here to kill you or anything even close to that. I came here because there was no way I could let them kill you, I had to come tell you and protect you. I swear to you and your family’s name that these two and myself are only here to help.” Jeremy pleaded, staring at the king’s face, waiting for him to look at him.

When Ryan finally did look at him, Jeremy wanted to run. Never had been on the other end of such a hard-cold stare from the man.

“I thought you were dead.” Ryan huffed out. “I thought you had burned along with your family but instead you were out there, alive, playing assassin.”

“Ryan-“

“King Haywood.” Ryan corrected, and Jeremy felt as if someone had stab him in the heart. He dropped his head, standing up and stepping back from the king, he kept moving until he felt Michael and Gavin behind him, a comforting presence. 

“King Haywood, I will not apologise for leaving, if you were in my position, you would understand. But if I am to tell you of my reasoning’s, I’d rather do so in private.” Jeremy said, his voice going emotionless. 

“I will grant you your request.” Ryan stated.

“My king, are you sure that is wise? He is an assassin, and we don’t know his true intentions, whether he be an old friend or not.” Jack said, but Ryan ignored him, keeping his eyes on Jeremy.

“Geoff, would you please escort Jeremy to my chambers.” Ryan ordered, and Geoff huffed.

“And what of my friends?” Jeremy asked.

“Seeing as your friends did help save me today, they can leave peacefully to wherever it is you are staying.” Jeremy nodded, turning towards Michael and Gavin. The two looked as if they wanted to argue but Jeremy shook his head, leaning forwards and whispering so no one else could hear them.

“I will be fine, go back to the Inn and wait for me, do not start any fights with the guards either.” Jeremy said, and Michael rolled his eyes. Gavin nodded, placing a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder and squeezing slightly.

“Be safe.” Gavin said, and Jeremy smiled, turning towards Geoff who was waiting for him. He walked towards the guard, following him out of the throne room. 

The walk to Ryan’s chambers was familiar, and subconsciously Jeremy knew where he was going. Geoff was silent the whole way, not even shooting a glance Jeremy’s way. Once they arrived at the room, Geoff opened the door, letting the younger man in. But when Geoff closed the door, the guard was still in the room with the assassin, and Jeremy started to mentally prepare for the onslaught of insults and curses. 

But what Geoff said next, was not what Jeremy expected.

“You better be telling the truth in wanting to be here to help save him. No matter what Jack thinks, having you and those two here could help us. Assassins are unpredictable to everyone except other assassins.” Jeremy nodded along.

“I promise I am telling the truth, we only want to help and after this situation is finished with and if Ryan wishes, we will leave immediately.” Jeremy said, and Geoff nodded, reaching for the door again.

“I doubt he would ever wish for you to leave again, you should have seen him when we declared you dead.” Geoff said, leaving the room without waiting for a reply.

“Let’s hope.” Jeremy mumbled, moving towards the couch and collapsing on it, anxiously waiting for Ryan to arrive.

\---

Ryan watched Jeremy and Geoff leave the room, he was giving it his all to keep his emotions at bay. Jeremy is alive and is an assassin, and he just saved him from what could have been his death. And while he was relieved to see the man, he was hurt that he chose to become an assassin rather than coming back to Livaria. 

“Ryan, I know what you’re thinking, but I need to be careful, we don’t know if we can trust Jeremy anymore.” Jack said, stepping closer to his king. Ryan stood from his throne, straightening out his clothes, turning to his advisor.

“I understand your concern, but I know Jeremy better than anybody else, and if he is still the same person I once knew, then he would never harm me.” Ryan said, starting his walk towards his chambers, hearing the footsteps of his advisor right behind him.

“Yes, IF he is. There is still a high chance that he is not, you need to keep a cautious mind. What he went through, seeing his family burn alive and then having to live with the trauma while being taught how to be an assassin? That can drastically change someone.” Jack reasoned, coming to walk beside the king. 

“I’m sure it will be fine.” Ryan said, huffing when Jack turned and placed a hand on his chest, stopping him in his tracks. “Jack- “

“No, you aren’t thinking. I know he was your best friend, but people change Ryan. Just keep that in mind when you’re talking with him, and don’t make any rash decisions without mine or Geoff’s council. Am I understood?” A normal king would glare and remind their advisor who is king here. But Ryan wasn’t a normal king, and he knew that Jack was only concerned for his well-being. The king sighed, nodding at his advisor.

“I will keep a cautious mind, I promise.” Ryan affirmed, and Jack smiled, hugging his king quickly before taking his leave. Ryan let out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding, he continued his walk to his chambers slowly, letting his mind think over what to say to the other man.  
When he reached his room, the guards Trevor and Alfredo were stood there, bowing to their king. 

“I assume he’s still in there?” Ryan asked, not looking at them, but staring at the wooden door. 

“Yes, unless he jumped out the window.” Trevor replied, and Ryan let a little smile cross his face. Jeremy is afraid of heights, he was a wonder he managed to stay perched on the beam above Ryan in the throne room that whole time.

He nodded at them both, reaching for the door handle, taking in another breath and letting it out slowly, trying to calm his nerves. He opened the door quickly, watching his best friend scramble up from the couch, standing up straight and staring right at him. Ryan swallowed thickly, closing the door behind him.

\---

When Michael and Gavin arrived at the Inn, the curly haired man stormed to his room, leaving Gavin to apologise to the barkeep for his rude entry and excusing himself to follow the man. Gavin entered their room, shutting the door quietly. Michael sat on the bed, his head in his hands, breathing heavily. 

Gavin sat down next to him, placing a hand on his back, rubbing it softly. 

“What if they hurt him?” Michael whispered, and Gavin furrowed his eyebrows, it wasn’t like Michael to show so much worry for someone, even when it came to Gavin himself.

“Im sure he will be fine. Jeremy is good at combat and getting out of sticky situations. He also had that ring, and the king said that he was welcome into kingdom and castle.” Gavin tried to soothe but Michael huffed, standing up from the bed, walking towards the window and staring out of it. 

“He said that before Jeremy confessed to being a Venom Blade. You saw how cold the king became after hearing that, how are we supposed to trust that he won’t hurt Jeremy?” Gavin stood up, walking over to Michael and rest his head on his shoulder.

“We don’t, we have to trust Jeremy. He will be fine, he always is.” For a long moment they stayed quiet, both men watching people of the streets. 

“I hope you’re right.” Michael whispered. Gavin grabbed his hand, pulling him over the bed, pushing him to lay down. When Michael was lying down, Gavin laid down beside him, cuddling up to his lover. Michael wrapped his arm around his shoulder, hugging him close to his body. 

They could only wait now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im torn with how I want part two to go... 
> 
> hope y'all are enjoying this story, im having a blast writing it and crying over it :)


	9. Reunion Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan and Jeremy have a chat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo hey hi how are you all? Im sorry for leaving you all on hiatus for 8 months, writers block hit me like a truck and A LOT of shit happened in this period of time. But im back and I should stay up to date with chapters! This one isn't that good and I wanted to do so much more with it but what I wanted to do will be much better in future chapters! Hope you all enjoy!

Once the door was closed, Ryan let his body sag slightly. In front of his people, his guards and even the people who worked so close to him, he had to seem strong, unaffected from the stresses of being king. But behind this door, in his room, he could strip away his masks and let his guard down for a while. Considering the other person present in his room however, he couldn’t fully strip himself, even if the man was his best friend and knew him more than he knew himself. 

Jeremy stood still as he watched a train of emotions cross Ryan’s face, wanting only to step forward and ask the man what was on his mind, but he stayed in his spot, unsure of what to do but stare at the king. After what felt like hours, the king looked at him, stepping forward as he started to take off his armour. Jeremy opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it when no sound left him. For once in his life, of being known as someone who could never stop talking, he was speechless. What was he supposed to say? He wasn’t even sure if he could address the man as ‘Ryan’. Fortunately for the shorter man, the king decided to speak first.

“It’s been a while.” Ryan said, trying to fend off any emotion that wanted to worm its way into his tone. Jeremy hummed in agreement, shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat.

“8 years.” He replied, watching as the taller man put away his armour and weapons. Ryan turned towards Jeremy, walking over to the man and standing in front of him. Jeremy had to tilt his head back to stare into those piercing blue eyes, his breath catching slightly at getting to see them up close again. 

“Why?” Ryan asked, and Jeremy tilted his head, silently asking the man to explain what he meant. “Why did you leave us for them?” 

“I had to.” Jeremy sighed. “They saved my life, so I felt indebted to them. If it wasn’t for them I would have burned with my family, I would be dead if the leader himself didn’t dragged me out of there. Yes, I wish he didn’t take me back with him, I wish he would have left me here, but he didn’t. He saved me, and for that I owe him my life.” 

“You say that as if you didn’t have a choice.” Ryan gritted out, his gaze turning hard and Jeremy closed his eyes, dropping his head.

“I didn’t have one.” The shorter man whispered.

“There’s always a choice.” Ryan replied, and Jeremy started to feel anger rise in his chest, looking up and glaring at his once best friend. 

“How the hell would you know? Don’t act as if you understand what I had to fucking go through. I HAD TO WATCH MY FAMILY BURN, I HAD TO HEAR THEIR SCREAMS!” Jeremy yelled, taking a step forward, causing the king to take one back. “I didn’t have a fucking choice. You may think I did, you may believe that it would have been so easy for me to just up and leave like nothing happened and to return to you like a fucking loyal dog. I owed him my life, so I joined him to repay that debt.” 

The shorter man felt light headed from adrenaline caused by the anger rising inside of him, turning away from the king, he walked over to the window, breathing heavily as he stared out of it. The room was silent for a few minutes, the king graciously letting the assassin calm himself. 

“You’re right, I don’t understand. And I’m sorry you had to suffer through that, no one should have to. But please do not presume that I didn’t grieve, I thought you were dead Jeremy. I thought you had burned along with them, I grieved for you. I suffered night terrors for 3 whole years, and every single one was of you dead in that house.” Ryan said, his tone wavering as emotions welled up in his chest. 

Jeremy turned to face the man, and they stared at each other for a long moment, trying to read each other’s faces. 

“I’m sorry, if I could have let you know I was okay I would have.” Jeremy croaked out. Ryan sighed as he moved towards the man, staring him in the eyes desperately.

“Then why didn’t you? What was making it so you couldn’t?” Ryan asked, his voice pleading for answers.

“The leader said it was best to cut off all ties to who I used to be, and I didn’t want to endanger you by letting him know that we were best friends. Knowing that, he would have tried for an alliance with you, and if you refused he would have done unspeakable things to the citizens in your kingdom. Assassins are unpredictable and unforgiveable, I didn’t want to risk the wrath he would have aimed at you and your kingdom. And I guess a part of me didn’t want you to know that I was an assassin.” Jeremy confessed, sitting down on the window sill, his body becoming exhausted. 

“Ryan, you need to understand that I wanted none of this, and I never wanted to hurt you. I was faced with a choice and I chose the one that seemed the safest for me and for you.” Jeremy continued, looking up at the man who stood motionless as he listened. Eventually the king sat next to him, facing him. 

“And now? Isn’t coming to save me against your leader’s orders?” He asked softly, and Jeremy smiled slightly.

“Yes, it is, and I’m most likely going to be hunted by other assassins for it. But I couldn’t stand by and let them kill you. He even wanted me to do it! I would rather kill myself than harm you.” Jeremy said, and Ryan smiled at that, now he was sounding a lot more like the Jeremy he knew. “I came here to save you and to help you in getting them all off your back. I have no ill intent towards you or anyone here.”

“Of course, I never doubted that. But you will need protecting yourself now, like you said, they will be hunting you.” Ryan said, and Jeremy nodded, chuckling slightly.

“Well you will be happy to know that I happened to be the best assassin they had, I can easily fend off the other assassins. It’s the leader, Burnie Burns, I need to be worried about.” Burnie was the only person that could match him in skill, and Jeremy would rather not know what the man is like fighting him in fury. 

“Then we will protect you from him. I promise.” Ryan comforted, and Jeremy smiled at him. The king felt his heart flutter at the smile, it was still as beautiful as it was 8 years ago. 

“Thank you. If you don’t mind, can I make a request?” Ryan nodded, gesturing for him to ask away. “Can you please extend your protection to my friends? I promise they aren’t here to hurt you, and they would never lie to me. They have protected me and fought for me that I probably owe them my life more than I owe Burnie it.” 

“Of course, but they will need to gain my trust, I need to see that they are here to fight for me, not against me.” Ryan affirmed, smiling at the delight in Jeremy’s eyes at his words.

“Thank you, Ryan.” Jeremy said, a permanent smile plastered on his face, looking down as he fidgeted with the ring on his finger. 

“You kept it.” Ryan whispered, his eyes on the ring as well. Jeremy chuckled, nodding his head.

“I would have never parted with it willingly.” The shorter man replied, looking at Ryan with a soft smile. Ryan felt this overwhelming urge to lean forward and kiss his lips, to hold the man close and make him promise to never leave again. Staring into each other’s eyes, both men felt as if their worlds were complete again.

Ryan opened his mouth to say something but before a sound could come out, there was a knock at the door, pulling both men out of their intense staring.

“Enter!” Ryan called out and the door swung open, the one and only Geoff Ramsey walking into the room with a tired expression on his face.

“Our new prisoner is cleaned and locked up, he’s conscious, a bit delirious from the beating Jeremy gave him and the blood loss, but he is ready to be interrogated.” Geoff rambled, walking around the room. “But seriously Jeremy? You couldn’t have calmed down on the punches? Do you know how difficult it is to get blood stains out of stone?”

Jeremy gave him a guilty smile, trying not to laugh at Geoff’s irritation. Geoff huffed at the younger man, turning his gaze to his king who was trying not to double over with laughter. At Geoff’s glare however, Ryan coughed himself back to seriousness, looking at the captain of his guard and nodding.

“Right then, we should get to it. Jeremy, I would like to join me in this, seeing as you have first-hand knowledge about the assassins we are dealing with.” Jeremy nodded, all too happy to join Ryan again. 

“Yea, why don’t we just let half the kingdom join in as well.” Geoff sighed, turning to lead the two men out of the room. “Come on, the sooner we get this done the sooner I can drink.”

“He’s really the same old Geoff isn’t he.” Jeremy stated, staring at Geoff’s fleeing form. Ryan laughed at his friends comment, moving forward to follow his guard. Jeremy smiled and followed him, his leaping for joy at being the cause of Ryan’s laughter again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you thought they were gonna kiss aye? Im leaving that for the future ;) I should add, there will be smut in future chapters so you aren't reading this for nothing! Up next is Chris' interrogation and BOYS ITS GONNA BE FUN
> 
> Feedback is always welcomed <3 thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> This intro is like real purely written but its basically just a summary of the plot rather than and Intro. The next chapter will be written WAAAAAAAY better than this piece of garbage.
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated!


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